Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1438074
maltatoday | SUNDAY • 19 DECEMBER 2021 18 COMMERCIAL Promoting improved social dialogue in Malta DURING 2021, Servizzi Ew- ropej f 'Malta – SEM, im- plemented a project entitled 'Promoting Improved Social Di- alogue in Malta' (PRISM). This project was support-ed by Nor- way through the Norway Grants 2014-2021, within the context of the Programme "Social Dia- logue - Decent Work". The main objective of the project was that of conducting a comparative re- search study on social dialogue in Norway and in Malta and come up with recommendations to strengthen social dialogue in Malta. The Nordic model of social dialogue can be considered as an ideal example of a system which actively engages social partners in the development of policies. Synonymous with Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden, it is char- acter-ised by a tripartite sys- tem involving Government and representatives for both work- ers (trade unions) and employ- ers (employers' organisations). Looking specifically at Norway, the Norwegian la- bour market consistently de- mon-strates a high rate of employment as well as an ex- emplary rate of gender equal- ity. Over the last 100 years or so, Norwegian social dialogue has developed into a sys-tem which offers several good prac- tices that can be adapted and implemented by other coun- tries. In June 2019, the Inter- national Labour Organisation published a report entitled 'Getting and staying together: 100 years of social dialogue and tripartism in Nor-way'. A key takeaway from this report is that although initially char- acterised by con-flict among involved social partners, the system quickly shifted to effec- tive coop-eration across differ- ent political party lines. In the Maltese model of so- cial dialogue, the government is the main driver of in-dus- trial policies and consultation with social partners takes place during the draft-ing phase of policies. Social partners from their end can put forward pol- icy pro-posals and be involved in consultation processes with the Government. SEM contributes to social di- alogue in Malta by informing and engaging social partners, civil society organisations, public and private organisa- tions on the EU's policy and legislative proposals and brings the different stakeholders to- gether to discuss such policies. Agency officials also partici- pate in meetings of the Malta Council for Economic and So- cial Development to provide in-depth updates of the long- term strategies and legislative proposals of the EU. As part of the PRISM project, SEM organised an online meet- ing with three Norwe-gian so- cial partners to gain practical insight on the Norwegian mod- el of tripartite dialogue. On the basis of this meeting as well as a desk research, a report was pub-lished outlining current practices in social dialogue in both Malta and Norway in order to provide recommen- dations to improve social dia- logue in Malta. The report notes that a key difference between the two so- cial dialogue models in Malta and Norway is that the former is mostly based on information sharing, whereas the latter is based on engagement of all parties. Nonetheless, the report also notes that social dialogue in Malta has a relatively short history compared to Norway – 30 years compared to Norway's 100 years. The final activity of this project was a business breakfast held on December 2, which brought together a num- ber of social partners and Gov- ernment representa-tives. Dur- ing this event, attendees were informed about the activities that were carried out as part of the PRISM project, including a presentation on the findings of the mentioned report and its recommendations. The event also involved a dis-cussion on the topic of social dialogue and how this can be improved in Malta on the basis of the find- ings and recommendations of the report. The Minister with- in the Office of the Prime Min- ister, the Hon. Carmelo Abela was also present for this ses- sion. For further information about the project and report findings, you may visit https://sem.gov. mt/latest-updates/events/busi- National survey on eye disease in Malta, the Malta Eye Study, is up and running THE mission of the Malta Eye Study is to reduce vision loss and improve quality of life through vision research. Visual impairment has a profound and negative im- pact on people and society at large. Many disorders leading to visual impairment are of- ten preventable and treatable, which is why it is so important for a Nation to have robust public health data, so as to be able to screen for disease and pick it up early, at a national level. Considering the compli- cated epidemiology of visual impairment and the wide vari- ety of factors involved, provid- ing appropriate data is one of the first steps to ensuring the eventual prevention of treat- able impairments. To date in Malta, there are no national statistics available on blindness and common eye diseases such as cataracts, diabetic retinopa- thy, and glaucoma. However, that is being currently recti- fied by Ophthalmic surgeon Francis Carbonaro and his research team, led mainly by PhD student and ophthalmol- ogist Dr. David Agius, through the Malta Eye Study launched in 2019. This study, aims to gather much needed data to determine the prevalence of common eye disorders in Mal- ta and how much they contrib- ute towards visual impairment and blindness. This will help improve planning prevention, screening, and management of eye disorders within the Maltese national health care system. The data will also de- termine the state of eye health in Malta's population and help shape the future of ophthalmic care. From this data the team will also be able to understand if the Maltese are more at risk due to specific factors such as genetics or environment. Over 300 people have taken part so far, but the study needs more participants in order to ensure a valid and repre- sentative cohort.. The team is collecting data from a total of around 2000 individuals, who will be called up randomly, to get a demonstrative picture of the nation. The research team is appeal- ing to those who are called up, to take part in this study and benefit from a free comprehen- sive eye check, with the possi- ble early detection of common eye disease and subsequent treatment, where necessary. Ophthalmic surgeon Francis Carbonaro with ophthalmologist Dr. David Agius